Dropped kerbs and vehicle crossovers in Richmond upon Thames
The charges, the stages, the conditions, and above all the order. Getting the sequence wrong is the most expensive mistake on this whole page.
The hard standing comes before the crossover
Richmond upon Thames will not build your crossover until the hard standing behind it is finished. Not designed, not started. Finished.
This catches people constantly. The instinctive order is to get permission for the dropped kerb first and then build the driveway, because that feels like the risky bit sorted. It is the wrong way round, and it means paying the application charge and then waiting.
The workable order is: check the frontage will actually qualify, build the driveway to the required specification, then apply. That way the council is assessing something that exists.
What it costs
Three separate figures, and the first one you do not get back.
| Charge | Amount | When |
|---|---|---|
| Application charge Non-refundable. Covers the assessment and site checks. | £295 | On applying |
| Administration charge Included in the final quote if you are approved. | £674.50 | On approval |
| Construction Typical range. Street furniture or utilities push it higher. | £2,500–£3,000 | Before work is scheduled |
Between the council charges and the driveway itself, a frontage with no existing access is a considerably larger project than the paving quote alone suggests. Our cost guide sets both out together.
What happens, and how long each part takes
You apply
Online, or on a paper form requested from the traffic and engineering team. The non-refundable application charge is paid at this point.
Pre-assessment — around four weeks
Several departments look at it, including trees, planning and traffic, and a site visit is made. The council is upfront that there will be no updates available during this period, so there is no point chasing.
Assessment — around seven working days
An officer checks the measurements and the details, and the application is approved or refused.
Payment and scheduling — up to six weeks
Once you accept and pay, the council’s contractors schedule the work. This is often the longest single wait.
Construction — three to five days
The footway is taken up and rebuilt to a vehicle crossing specification, with the kerb dropped and the surfacing made good.
Realistically, three to four months from application to a driveway you can legally drive onto.
The conditions
These shape the driveway before you have chosen a block, which is why they belong at the start of a project rather than the end.
- Permeable hard standing. Permeable blocks, gravel or porous asphalt.
- At least 10% soft landscaping retained on the frontage.
- No discharge to the highway or the public sewer. Water is dealt with inside your boundary.
- The vehicle must park fully on the property, with no overhang across the footway.
- At least one metre of footway kept clear for pedestrians.
- On faster classified roads, space to turn and leave in first gear rather than reverse out.
- Planning permission first if you are on a classified road, in a conservation area, under an Article 4 direction, or your house is a Building of Townscape Merit. TfL red routes are handled by Transport for London.
Measure from the back edge of the footway to your house. If it is much under five metres, a normal car will overhang the pavement and the application is likely to fail on that alone. It costs nothing to find out and £295 not to.
What we can and cannot do
Being clear about this saves everybody time.
We do
- Build the hard standing to the specification the council expects
- Design and build the drainage so nothing discharges to the highway
- Take out and rebuild the section of front wall
- Tell you honestly whether your frontage is likely to qualify
- Work to the sequence so the driveway is ready when you apply
We do not
- Build the crossover itself. That is council-controlled work
- Submit the application on your behalf
- Have any influence over the council’s decision or timescales
Anyone telling you otherwise is worth a second look.
Crossover questions
Can I build the crossover myself, or use my own contractor?
No. The footway is public highway and work on it is carried out under the council’s control, by contractors it approves. That part of the job is not something we or any other paving firm can do for you.
What we do is everything behind the kerb line: the hard standing, the drainage, and the boundary work. Then the council builds the crossing.
How long does the whole thing take?
Budget for three to four months from application to a finished crossover, and possibly more. The pre-assessment stage alone is around four weeks, and the council is explicit that there are no updates during it.
After that there is an assessment of roughly seven working days, and then up to six weeks before construction is scheduled, with the work itself taking a few days. It is not a quick process, so start it early.
What if it is refused?
The application charge is non-refundable, which is precisely why it is worth checking the obvious blockers first. Common reasons for refusal are insufficient depth on the frontage so the car would overhang the footway, a street tree that cannot be worked around, sightlines onto a busy road, and street furniture that cannot be moved.
A tape measure and ten minutes will rule out the first of those before you spend anything.
Can I widen an existing dropped kerb?
Yes, but it is a fresh application with its own charges rather than an amendment to the original one. It is a common requirement when a driveway is widened for a second car, and people are frequently surprised by it.
Worth factoring in at the point you decide to widen, not afterwards. See driveway extensions and widening.
Do I have to keep part of the garden planted?
Yes. Richmond upon Thames asks for a minimum of ten per cent of the frontage to remain soft landscaping. It is a condition rather than a suggestion.
It is much better to design that in as a deliberate planted bed than to leave a leftover strip. On most frontages a planted border along the boundary or beneath the bay window satisfies it and looks considerably better than paving to every edge.
Planning a driveway where there is no access yet?
Talk to us before you apply. We can tell you whether the frontage is likely to qualify, and build the hard standing in the right order so you are not waiting twice.
We normally reply within 24 hours.